Wasn’t surprised that the trio would kick their album off with this song! Being a B-side from “Ijime, Dame, Zettai” I was surprised at first because the intro is haunting and almost wants to lead into an epic song. At least the tone of the song sets the album up for what’s coming for the rest of the album. It’s very heavy and the arrangement is very quick and you can tell with the guitar riffs and drumming that went on. The girls for the most part are kind of laying low while the growling goes on…they have small parts but still it sounds like an intro that went on a bit too long.

2. Megitsune

Moving to the trio’s 4th single released, Megitsune definitely impressed me musically more than it did vocally but SU-METAL rocks this song out completely and the melody of the song is just bangin’ amazing! It’s just an amazing song and was heavily impressed by the song in its entirely…it’s my favorite of the A-sides and for good reason.

3. Gimme Choco!!

I was pretty sad that the album would only contain 3 new songs. The first is the one that promoted the album, Gimme Choco! and unlike “Megitsune” it has a little more synthwork and a little more cuter side to it especially the chorus. Plus it seems like YUIMETAL and MOAMETAL have a little more light here and they seemed to work well together surprisingly. Not bad of a choice to promote the album with.

4. Ii ne!

Released as their technical first single, Ii ne! was on a joint single they did with Kiba of Akiba (which I didn’t review) plus it was on their Sakura Gakuin album but a revised version, but this is the original. This is where I started to really enjoy the group and about when they started to get warmer reception from idol fans. It’s a fun track to listen to, but the rap section is still a big WTF for the song since it sounds like YUI and MOA are leading it before coming back to death metal growls. That part reminded me of Chelsea Grin…weird…Old song, but a pretty good song all-around.

5a. Benitsuki -Akatsuki-

As one of the B-side from “Megitsune”, Akatsuki is a SU-METAL solo (wait, already?). There’s no doubt that she’s the group’s best singer so she’d get a song that would really cement that mindset. She begins the song by herself and piano before the angry guitars come in and turn this into a death metal song with pounding drums and some good piano lines too. The other two girls do provide some backup melodies, but it’s mostly SU for the majority. Still a good song overall!

5b. Benitsuki -Akatsuki- (Unfinished ver.)

So on these special limited editions we got a different version of this B-side which is a surprise because I didn’t think they could. The biggest difference is the fact that the entire song is just piano, so there’s not metal explosion to be had, so the flow on the APOCALYPSE edition is kind of wacked up because of this. The other two members also also cut so we’re left with a total SU-METAL solo here. I liked it overall, but I think the album works better with the original.

6. Do・ki・Do・ki☆Morning

Wow I wouldn’t have thought they would include this song. I remember when I reviewed Sakura Gakuin’s debut album and running into this little gem. Little did I know, this would make the three so popular that today, they’re bigger than the main group 0.o. It’s definitely the song on the album that really has that idol feel somewhere in it amongst the nitty and gritty. Suffice to say, it was surpassed by its successors lol. I still do think the pre-chorus is the best damn thing about this tune. That nostalgia tho…it’s still good today even though vocally it’s a bit eh xD.

7. Onedari Daisakusen

The other B-side from “Megitsune” comes next and this one focused more on YUI and MOA here and they’re the younger vocals here. The song they got is a bit more and I was surprised of the direction of the song by making them rap here and there but sing too and their voice are so high. Like I said on the single review, this would be great sung live but the studio version doesn’t really do much for the tune.

8a. 4 no Uta

We get our next new track from the group with 4 no Uta and it reminds me of “Ii ne!” with the first half being more of a hard rock song. I mean I can get behind this quite a bit because it can be catchy. Though like the aforementioned song they throw in a random segment of reggae and it goes back to heavy rock and back to reggae. It’s definitely not conventional and it’s not handled as smoothly as “Ii ne!” was.

8b. 4 no Uta (444 ver.)

Once again, the APOCALYPSE edition comes with another redone, but of a new song? That’s a bit bogus right? To be honest, there’s really little difference here except this version lacks the echo filter…otherwise it’s nothing totally different. Song is still really bipolar😄.

9. U・ki・U・ki★Midnight

Next up is the B-side from “Headbanger!!” and it’s a lot like “Do・ki・Do・ki☆Morning” in where it has it’s darker rock moments but also has a more idol-like sound but still continues to rock out during them parts. Like the various experimented songs, this one features dubstep as its middle. Solid song overall!

10. Catch me if you can

Moving to the other B-side from “Ijime, Dame, Zettai, it’s another YUI and MOA led song and this one felt like it hit harder than “Onedari Daisakusen” did and I actually found this the better of the two songs. Also like the previous track, it had another bout with dubstep and this one felt messier but this song was jsut heavy and edgy as it is and it didn’t need it, but overall it was good.

11. Akumu no Rinbukyoku

The last of the new tracks, Akumu no Rinbukyoku was a lot heavier than the other two new tracks and it seems there’s a clear lead in SU here. Surprisingly as a SU song, I kind of forgot about the song midway through as it didn’t have as much excitement as with other songs. Though once again, cemented why SU has such good vocals!

12. Headbanger!!

As the trio’s 2nd single (technically), Headbanger!! was so wild and relentless and I loved the PV that it got too haha. The tune is pretty loud and definitely the energy is through the roof…though I loved the part where SU sang in front of some harpischord…so cool. I enjoyed it pretty much through!

13. Ijime, Dame, Zettai

I love that they chose to close it out with their first major label single. Right from the piano intro, Ijime, Dame, Zettai left the best sound of the A-sides and it mixed what I loved the most about BABYMETAL into one track because SU leads this one and lord she took this song to new heights. It’s rockin’ and just closed the album with a strong point!

14. Road of Resistance

So the next year over, it seems that BABYMETAL had become popular enough to release the album internationally and came with some bonus tracks! First is the song they released after this album’s release but was only a digital single at the time. I love how epic it begins with some great power chords and some dramatic percussion. Though it switches gears quite abruptly to a more furious setting. I love SU-METAL here as she brings some good vocals to a powerful song. Still find it weird that it’s on this album and will be on their upcoming album…

15. Gimme Choco!! -Live at 02 Academy Brixton, London-

Last but not least, there was a live performance of Gimme Choco!! and boy do they bring it in live settings because the band playing was really hardcore and the trio actually managed to keep up with everything that was going on! Really awesome performance of the song and just solidifies how great the group is!

Tracks Recommended

Ijime, Dame, Zettai

Megitsune

Ii ne!

Benitsuki -Akatsuki-

Headbanger!!

Song of Avoidance

4 no Uta

Wow, even though it took a while for this album to come together, BABYMETAL’s self-titled debut was pretty awesome! I mean despite that there’s only 3 new songs on the album it was mostly a strong album for the trio and definitely would love to see more, but I’m not sure it they’ll continue though Suzuka is doing fine without being in Sakura Gakuin. Great album though!